Being clever beats being smart

My definitions don’t really make sense, dictionary wise, but for the sake of the argument here’s more or less how I see the difference between clever and smart. Smart is about intelligence. Clever is about applying intelligence. You can be highly intelligent, ‘book smart’ if you will, but never use this intelligence in a way that it’s beneficial for yourself or someone / something else. Whereas you can be somewhat intelligent and apply information in a clever way, let’s say ‘street smart’. As you can see, there’s a role for creativity.

Smart is knowing the formula πr². Clever is using πr² to calculate the surface area of your domino’s pizza’s to figure out how many big ones you need for your kid’s birthday party.

As you might know, my view on marketing is all about integration. Bringing competences together to build a better experience. For example: creativity and media. It’s important to reach the right people, but equally important to tell or show them the right messages. If someone already saw your message, or even acted upon it, you might consider a new message. This way you can integrate stages in the customer journey or marketing funnel. They’re not isolated experiences, although our industry seems to be built like they are.

In a media context, we typically see the SMART approach pop up (Specific - Measurable - Assignable - Realistic - Time Related .. or some variation). It’s a solid methodology when followed, increasing the chance that your efforts are worth doing with measurable effects. An intelligent practice, but in my mind too siloed: it will only look at the effects, and not the broader context.

As the quote goes:
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

I suggest a new acronym that does take the broader context into account: CLEVR.

CLEVR stands for: CREATIVE - LEAN & LEARN - EXPERIMENTAL - VERSATILE - RESULT DRIVEN

Creative: within messaging and in reaching audiences, creativity is a distinctive force.
Lean & Learn: nothing is set in stone. Make sure your campaigns are flexible and adaptable.
Experimental: following the previous two points, you need to try things, look for new insights.
Versatile: every person is different. How do you align?
Result Driven: last but not least, we need it to work. And if you like to use the SMART methodology here, please do ;-)

Let’s be clevr!